Today I was playing basketball with one of my friends and it struck me how big a lesson of team building can be learnt from it. Since I was told that the article I wrote about the basketball analogy is too technical I will try to put my point across in a way a layman can understand. In a basketball 5 players are actually on the court playing the game. If you have followed a basketball match closely you would have noticed that the players usually take a shot from specific points frequently. For example Shaquille O'Neil is good at pivot shots close to the ring and in collecting rebounds. Similarly the one who feeds the ball and gets it is the play maker. You cannot have a team which has all 5 rebounders or all 5 play makers. Ultimately each one plays what he can do the best and performs well to win games.
Though the game we watch might be entertaining, that would not have been possible without the strenuous physical training they undergo and the way they discipline their bodies and develop their skills and strategies each time they have a game or a tournament coming up. All of them have to go through the same basic physical training to be graded as fit for the game. They are coached by one Leading Coach who is also their manager with the same goal of winning games. Huh! If you think I am blabbering yeah you are probably right but you can just imagine some other game you know where each player requires diversified abilities (I guess any game will)!!
Technical stuff apart, I see that today's churches, Christian organizations or ministries are very enthusiastic and prayerful about starting off a ministry or an organization or an activity with let’s say one vision, mission, objectives, goals or whatever. They are doing tremendous work and I have seen amazing results coming out of them. Many testimonies and a lot of change in people attending the camps and events happening around. That is really good. Praise God for that! But one big thing I see that is missing is the "Principles" on which they are built and held together as a team. I think God would surely be watching that missing link. I have seen great musicians, preachers, speakers, helpers and teachers in different Christian circles but what are the principles they are based on is something that puzzles me. I am not looking for a monotonic or a flat system where everyone is a preacher or everyone is a musician but one where the value system is strongly built with the diversifications adding beauty, strength and glory to the team.
In Ephesians Paul says that God gives people as gifts to the church by His grace.(Eph 4:11). So God provides people enabled with Spiritual gifts to different churches accordingly. What he says we need to be doing as a team is something not easy but challenging. We cannot be tossing to and fro with every wind of doctrine or by the sleight of men. (Eph 4:14) There will always be people waiting to deceive, both within and outside the organization but then we ought not to be deceived because by being deceived we are going to become partakers with them (Eph 5:6,7). The only way we can be saved from deception is by being renewed in the mind and walking as the children of God.(Eph 4:23, 5:8) It is interesting to see that Paul says we need to be trying to learn what is acceptable unto the Lord. (Eph 5:10) But there will be people who will be learning for ever but never be able to come to the knowledge of the truth.(2 Tim 3:6) I was wondering how can this be? I mean on one hand we are trying to learn and prove what is pleasing to God but on the other hand there will be people doing exactly the same but based on the principles of darkness.
So I think the only way we can work as team is when our physical training, disciplining of our bodies and development of skills and strategies happens based on one value system and a given set of principles that is of the Bible. I mean what other way do we have to know what pleases God and not men! If that is not common then we can never be working together or stand united. If we are not letting the Holy Spirit our head coach to teach us and correct us and to be wise in keeping away from darkness then we can never win games. (Eph 5: 15-17) This is where we are called to be united, this is where we are to be one and simultaneously play our distinct and irreplaceable roles in the ministry. (Eph 4: 13,17)
If you have observed that most of the references are from Ephesians then yes you are right, I’ve been studying Ephesians and just wanted to restrict mostly to Ephesians.
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